U.S. firm Murphy Oil Corporation has discovered oil at its Bubale-1X exploration well offshore Côte d'Ivoire in West Africa.
The Bubale-1X well, located in Block CI-709 around 40 miles (64 km) offshore Côte d'Ivoire, encountered 100 feet (30 meters) of net oil pay across two reservoirs, with preliminary assessments indicating high-quality light oil.
The well was drilled to a total depth of 20,548 feet (6,263 meters) in water depths of 7,795 feet (2,376 meters).
"Early results at Bubale reinforce the prospectivity of our Côte d'Ivoire acreage. We are pleased with the results to date, which underscore the value of a disciplined and consistent exploration approach. Our immediate focus now is advancing evaluation plans to define the discovery's full potential," said Eric Hambly, President and Chief Executive Officer.
Bubale-1X is the third and final well in Murphy's current three-well exploration campaign offshore Côte d'Ivoire.
Following the discovery, the company plans to move into the next phase of evaluation, including drilling an additional well in the second half of 2026 to assess the extent of the discovery.
The well was spudded in late February by Murphy CI-709 Oil Co, a subsidiary of Murphy Oil and operator of Block CI-709.
Murphy holds a 90% working interest in the block, while state-owned Société Nationale d'Opérations Pétrolières de la Côte d'Ivoire (PETROCI) owns the remaining 10%.